Abbott's boat policy in stand-off with Indonesia

Prime Minister Tony Abbott's policy to turn back asylum seekers has failed a significant test, with 63 boat people arriving on Christmas Island after the government blinked in a mid-ocean standoff with Indonesia.

The backdown will be seen as a loss of face for the Coalition, which vowed before the election that Australian authorities would not act as a taxi service for refugees. It may also encourage other people-smuggling syndicates to try their hand.

Although Indonesia had agreed to Australia's request to take back asylum seekers on two recent occasions, critics of the government's turn-back policy had predicted Jakarta would eventually refuse to accept boats turned back by the Australian navy. That day came on Friday, when Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa outlined a harder-line doctrine and refused to take the asylum seekers unless there was a threat to life.

As Labor said the turn-back policy was ''in tatters'' and accused the Abbott government of inept diplomacy, Immigration Minister Scott Morrison tried to play down the stand-off in a statement issued on Saturday. He said that overnight on Friday the Indonesians has advised Australian officials that they were ''reviewing'' the request to take the boat back.

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He said he welcomed Indonesia's ''review'', but ''in the best interests of the safety of the passengers and crew'' he had ordered the asylum seekers to be taken to Christmas Island for ''rapid onward transfer to Manus Island or Nauru''.

However, Agus Barnas, a spokesman for Indonesia's co-ordinating minister, Djoko Suyanto, said on Saturday: ''As far as I'm concerned, there is no review of the government of Indonesia's position/standpoint on the refugees who wish to go to Australia.''

Illustration: Matt Golding

Agus Barnas said he had checked this with the country's ambassador to Australia, who said the Indonesians had held a meeting after the incident and his orders from the minister had not changed.

Agus Barnas said Jakarta was reluctant to accept the most recent asylum seekers because the boat had been in working order when first approached by Australian navy vessel HMAS Ballarat.

''We don't want Indonesia to be a dumping ground, but we don't want Australia to accuse us of not doing anything. We want to respect Australia. At least for the time being, we will not accept them.''

The boat had been at the centre of a standoff between the two governments since Thursday when Australian ships had gone to the aid of the asylum seekers who had made a distress call.

On Saturday, Mr Abbott would not comment on Indonesia's motives for refusing to take the asylum seekers back. But he said he did not accept that the government had ''surrendered'' its policy to turn back the boats. ''We have a range of options at our disposal,'' he said.

''We deserve the right to put into place all of the policies that we took to the election and one of the options that we reserve to ourselves is the option of turning boats around where it's safe to do so and certainly that's something which is very much alive.''

Mr Abbott said the relationship between his government and Indonesia was mutually respectful.

But opposition immigration spokesman Richard Marles said Mr Abbott's diplomacy had been inept. ''Turning back the boats is certainly not happening, and you'd have to say that to the extent to which it's at the centre of their boat policy, their boat policy is in tatters,'' he said.

An asylum seeker source told Fairfax Media that the people on the boat were from Pakistan and Afghanistan, and had been organised by people smugglers called Muzahir and Sher Ali.

He said people smugglers in West Java were talking about sending another boat within three days, or up to a week. The standoff led the co-ordinating minister, Djoko Suyanto, to assert that the country would never take refugees from Australia under similar circumstances.

An asylum seeker in Indonesia contacted Fairfax Media early on Saturday to say the boat had reached the Australian territory.

''I have friends on the boat,'' the asylum seeker said in a text message, ''and yesterday he says, 'my boat [has] reached'.''

With BIANCA HALL

242 comments

A jingoistic slogan, "stop the boats," may win you government, but when the complexities of the issue arise its clear the government needs more than superficial promises. Some detail, diplomacy, political skill, and strategy would be helpful.

Commenter

AJK73

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 7:39AM

There is no surprise here. You all knew the Tony way when making an election choice. By reading the comments, news, articles, interviews he is not popular. A one term Tony by the look of it. Our journalists are doing a fantastic job in bringing the correct information from Indonesia while JULIA and TONY deny there are issues. Seams our Government wants to erase the spying allegations. The two parties agreed to spying not just one so don't blame one only. Not only this all these refugee issues are Australias problem. How you ask? When Australia became a signatory to the issue it became OUR problem. Australia if you were not ready to support the problem then why become a signatory to it? Indonesia stand your ground! We ask for help regarding OUR problem and we back stabbed you. Journalists keep up the great work we get more information from you than our own Government under the current dictatorship. I will say it again... you all voted for this.

Commenter

The Other Guy1

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 9:23AM

OtherGuy1 - it almost sounds as if you'd like us to wave the white flag to our Indonesian neighbors. Personally i'm rather proud of being an Aussie, sounds like you're not.

Commenter

Hacka

Location

Canberra

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 10:56AM

Labor had six years to fix this problem and didn't. Why did Labor supporters give them six years without complaining but expect the Coalition to fix the problem on day one?

Commenter

adrian

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 11:02AM

Ladies and gentlemen we've had the late scratching of "Johnny's Love Child" from race 1, the Credibility Stakes at Flemington. It seems jockey Morrison just can't fit in the saddle and is scared of heights. Wait on, we have a further scratching, "Bishop's Ambition" has apparently turned up at Caulfield, now there's one for the books. It looks like "Bang Bang" has now been installed as favourite, over to you Kenny.

Commenter

Neil (not on radio) Mitchell

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 11:51AM

I like the symmetry - Labor dumped the Coalition's very effective policy for their own ineffective one, eventually found an effective solution with only a few weeks left of their government, now the Coalition has dumped that for their own ineffective policy...

Meanwhile the electorate is just embarrassed.

I think us Aussies are going to have to get used to one-term governments because neither party has any talent or brains whatsoever.

Commenter

Cathy Little

Location

Prahran

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 11:58AM

None of those qualities can ever be attributed to the Mad Monk and his backers. Slash and burn, accuse everyone else when his 'stop the boats' promise is embarrassingly rebuked, take no positive action on home team rorts .... this is the new Mad Monk mantra. Bring on the double dissolution and get rid of these LNP liars and cheats now.

Commenter

MP

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 12:01PM

When Abbott announced that this was his policy for the asylum issue, my first thought was how this would turn into a blinking competition.It appears I was right and Abbott blinked first.How on earth did he expect that the Indonesians would just roll over and come and get the asylum seekers?The may - and I stress may - take them back if they are still in Indonesian waters, but if they are in international waters, the Indonesians will leave it to Australia to come to the vessel's aid and deal with it.I'm really unimpressed with our new government.

Commenter

Not surprised

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 1:19PM

This really is delicious - remember, Tony, 'no excuses'.

Commenter

EBAB

Location

St Lucia

Date and time

November 10, 2013, 1:57PM

Hacksy, so patriotic, perhaps you could join Jools under the Australian Flag sheets.